Marcia Gay Harden

CHICAGO – One of two surprising 2012 Oscar nominees for Best Animated Film (the other being “Chico & Rita”), “A Cat in Paris” was just released in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack Special Edition and viewers may be curious what enticed Academy members. The film has its diversions but it’s ultimately a film that only reminds one of better works and barely comes together. It would work as a TV special but its 62-minute length isn’t the only thing that keep it back from being a fully-realized feature.

CHICAGO – With the success of mystery shows like “C.S.I.” and “The Mentalist,” why not try and bring back a staple of the ’70s and ’80s TV scene, the mystery movie of the week? Such is the thinking behind TNT’s programmers, as the network will debut a whopping four stand-alone mystery movies in the next month, starting with tonight’s debut of “Scott Turow’s Innocent,” starring Bill Pullman, Marcia Gay Harden, Alfred Molina, and Richard Schiff. Despite the stellar cast, this is a limp, dull effort that will only serve to remind viewers why they don’t make TV movies like this often any more.

CHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, we have one mega summer gift bag for season two of USA Network’s “Royal Pains”!

CHICAGO – USA’s “Royal Pains” was one of the most surprising hits of 2009, the #1 new show of the summer season, and it returns even more confident, entertaining, and close-to-perfect with its second season premiere on June 3rd, 2010. It’s highly unlikely that the show will lose any viewers and the buzz around the sophomore season and the release of the first on DVD should actually see numbers increase.

CHICAGO – I know what you’re thinking: What do “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Mystic River” have in common? Nothing at all other than a Blu-ray release date of February 2nd, 2010. Oh, and they’re two films you should probably own if you have a Blu-ray player.

CHICAGO – Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It” is the kind of fun, girl-power driven comedy that I honestly expected would find a huge word-of-mouth audience in theaters. Its absolutely dismal box office ($13 million) was one of the biggest financial surprises of 2009. People are likely to catch up with the Ellen Page comedy on Blu-ray and DVD.

CHICAGO – The second season of ‘Damages,’ recently released on DVD, was still quality television but felt like a bit of a letdown after the spectacular first season of this amazing show. Naturally, expectations are high for the premiere of season three.

CHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two run-of-engagement Chicago passes up for grabs to the new film “Whip It,” which is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut!

CHICAGO – The complex, twisted world of FX’s excellent “Damages” returns this week with a spectacular set-up for what promises to be another riveting season of twists and turns down the alleys of legal ethics and questionable moral behavior with an even more impressive ensemble than the one that won Emmys for its highly lauded first season.

On Nov. 6, I joined a conference call on “The Mist” with director Frank Darabont (“The Green Mile,” “The Shawshank Redemption”), Marcia Gay Harden (“Rails & Ties”), Thomas Jane (“The Punisher”) and Chris Owen (“American Pie”).